RootXShaw Shorts
by Impala73
Summary: Just a collection of little shorts that I've tried to put into chronological order. They're based off writing prompts that I found on pinterest and just thought that I could imagine so many of them being said between Root and Shaw. Just some fluff to satisfy the soul. I hope you like them :)
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** The Machine hasn't spoken to Root in nearly two weeks, feeling alone and without a purpose is bad enough, but when Harold gets a message from the Machine, shattering all ideas that she wasn't talking to her because she was having to hide, or upgrade, or repair or just any good reason, it sends Root over the edge leaving her a sobbing mess. When John is called away on business it is left to Shaw to try to comfort Root, and it would be an understatement to say that kind, compassionate and caring are hardly her strongest suit...

* * *

Root sat with her knees pulled to her chest, the plate of food Harold had placed beside her sat untouched. She hadn't moved in over an hour.

"well at least she's not crying anymore" Shaw said in a low voice, Harold had assigned her and John to watch Root. The machine hadn't spoken to her in nearly two weeks, leaving her irritable and unstable. That had been bad enough, but when Harold received a new number it had been too much for Root. The machine hadn't been forced into hiding, or had to go offline whilst repairing some part of herself, it just was ignoring her calling out to her, begging for a mission, a purpose.

She had screamed. She had cried. Knocked half the books off their shelves. In short she had lost her shit, which ended in her a sobbing mess curled up in the corner. Harold had asked John and Shaw to keep an eye on her whilst he researched their latest number. Root had made no attempt to communicate with them, they just leant against the wall, ready to step in if she was about to hurt herself.

"John, can I speak to you," Harold asked, then lowering his voice, "It's about our latest number," he obviously didn't speak quietly enough because tears started rolling down Roots cheeks again. "Now, Mr Reese." Harold urged before throwing another glance at Root and hurrying back to his computer. With a sigh John straightened up, just as he was about to follow Harold, a hand shot out and grabbed his forearm. It was Shaw.

"She's crying what do I do?" Shaws gaze didn't leave Root's hunched over form, a look of concern on her face. John smiled, Shaw could take down half an army by herself, but when confronted with someone in tears, she was at a loss.  
"Go comfort her." John went to leave again but Shaw's grip tightened, through Shaw's somewhat clenched jaw he heard,  
"How do I do that?" This caused John to smile, the two women didn't always get on but it seemed that Shaw had warmed slightly to Root since their first meeting, otherwise she wouldn't have cared that Root was crying and probably would have asked if she could taze Root to stop her wrecking the library.  
"Start with hugs." Shaw's eyes snapped to his,  
"With what?" John laughed, pulling his arm free from Shaw's grip he gave her a push towards Root and promptly left.

The movement had caught Root's attention, her eyes, bright with tears, were now fixed on Shaw. After a moment of awkward silence Shaw moved closer to Root, crouching down next to her, giving her an equally awkward pat on the shoulder, mumbling some form of 'there, there," as she did so. Root's eyes, which were still fixed on Shaw, began to fill up with tears. Shaw watched them spill over, down Root's cheeks, dripping off her chin. Sighing, Shaw sat down next to Root, switching between looking straight ahead and down at her hands.

"Look, Root, I'm sure the machine has a reason for not talking to you, you know what it's like, better than anyone, who knows what it's thinking." She could hear Root still crying next to her but didn't look round, not until she felt something on her shoulder. Root had shuffled closer, her head now resting on Shaw's shoulder, her arms and knees still tucked tight to her chest. Tears were still rolling down her face, now falling onto Shaw's shirt.

Root could feel Shaw tense up upon contact, but she was exhausted and an emotional wreck, feeling the warmth and stability of another person, even someone as uncomfortable with physical contact as Shaw, helped a little.

After a few minutes she had calmed down enough to speak, muttering an apology to Shaw she pulled away. Less than a few seconds later full on sobbing returned, leaving Shaw sat, awkwardly watching, playing out her different options in her head, considering what John and Harold would tell her to do, she reluctantly reached out and put her hand on Root's turned back, slowly she started to rub her back. Upon this contact Root turned back to face Shaw, this time leaning on her chest. Shaw stiffened again, bit eventually relaxed a bit when she realised that Root was not going to stop crying anytime soon. She even went as far as putting her arm round Root, waiting for her to cry herself out.

Eventually she did, exhausted from hours of upset Root quickly fell asleep, her head slipping onto Shaw's lap. She let out an exasperated sigh, but didn't have the heart to wake her up; she had had a rough day.

A few hours after leaving with Harold to conduct re-con on their new number John returned to the Library… everything seemed in place, which left him suspicious, maybe Shaw had tazed Root after all. Cautiously John pushed open the door. To his surprise Root was curled up on the ground, using Shaw's lap as a pillow she was peacefully sleeping, whilst Shaw absentmindedly weaving her fingers in and out of Root's brown hair. Smiling to himself he slipped out unnoticed.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:** Root and Shaw have to get information from a Texan oil Baron, but after having little luck infiltrating his life through work, they are forced to look at more... creative ways of getting close to him.

* * *

Together they sat in the car, outside an office building in New York. Their latest mission, extract information from Jonas Mathewson. He was a Texan oil Barron and entrepreneur, who had made his fortune as, at the expense of everyone else. They had been observing him for 3 days, their attempt to set up a meeting with him had failed, because apparently he was 'to busy playing golf to run his company. Root had had little success breaking into their computer system, which had been air gapped following a string of cyber-attacks on companies. They had spent the morning combing through his financial records, perhaps there was a café he frequented, or a tanning salon to give him his orange tinge.

"Well, it looks like it's the only way." Root sighed, closing the file after checking through for the third time.

"Root, no, there's got to be another way to get close to him." Shaw tilted her head in disbelief, Root smiled back

"It's what She says we have to do, there are a few openings. Audition is this afternoon so put on that pretty smile and let's go get a job!" Shaw grimaced as Root pulled away from the curb, heading towards Manhattan.

* * *

"C'mon Sam, you've got to put some effort in, it's for the mission." Root whispered into Shaw's ear as they paraded around in skimpy outfits, consisting of a overly cropped plaid shirt, much-too-short short shorts and 10 inch heels, with 10 other women. This was it, their only way onto Mathewson's life, through 'Baby Dolls Strip Club'. It was the only place he visited consistently and with no security. Reluctantly Shaw put on a smile, they needed to get hired if they wanted any chance of getting close to him.

"Okay," Billy, the owner barked in a strong Texan accent, "I want y'all to turn face the wall" they all complied "Good, now I need y'all to bend down, touch ya toes _without_ bending ya knees,"

"Root I swear to God I'm going to kill you."

* * *

Shaw was sulking in her car seat, refusing to take her coat, jacket or hoodie off, despite the heater being on as they staked out Mathewson's apartment building. Root had tried to cheer her up, even offering her the opportunity to use her tazer on Billy. Roots phone rang,

"Hello Billy," She put on her best seductive voice, catching Shaw's attention, she nodded and made sounds of acknowledgement to whatever was being said; suddenly her brow furrowed slightly, her tone stiffening "I see. Okay, goodbye." She terminated the call, turning to Shaw, "I didn't get it," she looked slightly crestfallen at this, despite having just escaped having to wear that uniform again and seduce creepy old men. Shaw went back to her sulk, which was now evolving into a huff.

"Great, now we have no in to get to Mathewson and he is flying back to Texas in three days." Disappointed that they had failed their mission.

"Not necessarily, you haven't had a call yet," To which Shaw rolled her eyes at Root.

"Root, there is absolutely no way that," Her phone rang, cutting her off, she answered it with none of the pretence that Root put up, it was her usual one word answers till the call was ended on the other end and Shaw dropped her phone into her lap. "I got the job." She said in disbelief.

* * *

Sameen stood behind the bar at Baby Dolls, thankfully they hadn't put her as one of the dancers. She polished some of the whiskey glasses as the men began to fill up the seats. It was nearly 10pm which meant that 'Jewel' would be doing her show soon, Mathewson was always there for that. Shaw moved along the bar, topping up drinks and taking orders until she reached the end.

"Hey sweetie," a familiar voice called from the end stool, turning round she saw, to no surprise, that it was Root. She also noticed that quite a few of the men were eyeing her up, even Shaw had to admit that she did look amazing in that tight red dress that showed off her legs "So, how's the job treating you?" Root asked sweetly, tilting her head to one side.

Before she could answer a bell rang, causing Shaw to clench her jaw and roll her eyes up as if she was asking God to give her the strength not to kill everyone in place. The bell signified that it was time for a spontaneous dance, which was really carefully choreographed.

It began with each girl getting onto the nearest bar or table and then progressed onto a series of sultry and seductive moves for the up close enjoyment of the customers. Root offered Shaw a hand as she used the stepping block at the end of the bar to get on top of it.

"This is all your fault!" Shaw hissed as she stepped onto the bar.

"I hope so!" Root replied with a smirk.

Billy was going round introducing each girl, who would then strike a pose. When he got round to the bar he introduced the new double act of Brandy and Whiskey! Brandy was the other barmaid who was at the other end of the bar. Root watched as both girls advanced to the centre of the bar, circling each other, eyes locked and a hand trailing round the others waist until, as the music reached its climax, when Shaw fell backwards into Brandy's arms, like at the end of a passionate tango. Her head tilted back just enough to lock eyes with Root whilst the men clapped. Root wasn't smiling quite as much anymore, instead that was replaced with a look of almost jealousy as the broke apart to resume their work.

* * *

"Heads up" Root whispered into her com, Shaw's head flicking up as she said it. Mathewson was making his way over to the bar. Shaw quickly positioned herself so that she was close to him and able to take his order whilst engaging in light conversation.

"So, what is a pretty little thing like you doing working in a place like this?" he asked in a heavily slurred Texan accent as Shaw poured him bourbon on the rocks. Inside she grimaced but knew that the mission depended on her pulling this off.

"Oh you know," she said with a smile, using a soft flirtatious tone that made Roots skin tingle when she heard it over the coms, "a girls gotta live, and I get to meet fine men like you," she kept eye contact with him as she reached out, running her nails along his hairy arms. They stayed chatting for another couple of drinks. Hearing some of the things Mathewson was saying about Sameen's physique made Root's stomach turn. Finally the torment was over.

"So, how 'bout we take this to one of the privet rooms and you can show me all what's under them clothes?" Mathewson suggested as he took a firm hold of Shaw's wrist and began pulling her to the end of the bar,

"Steady Sam," Root soothed over the coms, seeing Shaw's shoulders tense and her hand ball into a fist, "just get him to the room and then you can do whatever you want to him,"

"You promise?" Shaw replied, softly enough for Mathewson not to hear her as he continued to pull her towards the privet back rooms.

"Just get him onto the chair like we planned," Root continued as she began to tail them, avoiding the hands that were trying to grab her by men mistaking her for one of the strippers. Shaw and Mathewson had disappeared behind the curtain when she glanced over, but managed to follow without too much hassle as the security thought she was probably one of the new girls and so let her through.

She quickly found Mathewson and Shaw, smiling when she saw that Sameen had near managed to hog tie him to the chair.

"Nice work sweetie," she purred, standing behind Shaw and running her hands down her arms, "now… which bit should we chop off first to see if Mr Mathewson here wants to tell us what we need to know?" she asked, watching the alarm on Mathewson's face as the two smiled back at him.

* * *

"Well, that was successful!" Root grinned as the pair exited via the back fire escape, leading to the car park. Shaw smiled, after having to endure Mathewson's come ons she was more than happy that he had been reluctant to give them the information and so needed a little… persuasion.

"Hey Root," Shaw called as they got to the bottom of the fire escape, moving close to her so that Root was trapped between her and the wall, she ran her hands along Root's shoulders and up her neck a little before quickly pulling down on her collar. Root was so mesmerized by Sameen's proximity that it took her a moment to realise what had just happened,

"Hey! My coat!" she called after Shaw who had already started walking towards the car, jogging to catch up with her

"I'm dressed as a stripper and it's February, I get the coat!" Shaw insisted as they approached the car, Root only shrugging,

"It looks cute on you," she said flirtatiously, which earned her an eye roll from Shaw. " I need to get the keys," She said nonchalantly, before Shaw could finish asking which pocket they were in, Root was stood in front of her, her hands sneaking into the pockets before pulling them out again, key ring looped round one finger.

* * *

On the way back to the library they called Harold to update him on the Mathewson situation. Even with the heater on Shaw kept Root's coat on, having to mentally scold herself a few times when Harold had to repeat questions he had asked her, she hadn't heard the first time because each time she had found her tired brain getting distracted by Root's scent on the coat and the quiet chatter of her voice. Despite these scolding she kept the coat on and snuggled further into it, claiming to be cold.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N:** Root and Shaw are waiting at a bar for a potential informant, but when thy hear that John already has they guy and they can take the rest of the evening off, neither know how the night will go now that they're off the clock...

* * *

Root and Shaw sat at the bar; they had been there for nearly three hours and still no sign of their target. Shaw hoped that John was having more luck finding this guy than they were, Harold had been emphasising how important it was that they get the information from him as soon as possible. Root had been talking her ear off for the last hour, about everything from the missions the machine has sent her on, to the complex algorithms that the machine uses to encrypt the information it uses for something or other; being perfectly honest, Shaw only understood about half the computer jargon that Root was using, but it was nice to see Root happy the way she was when talking about all that stuff.

Shaw's attention was drawn when Root suddenly fell silent, the glazed over look in her eyes showed Shaw that the Machine was talking to her. Root smiled before turning to her companion,  
"Johns got him, She says that he's got it all under control and that we can have the rest of the night off!" Root explained before taking another sip of her drink. Shaw smirked as she stretched out her arms and rotated her shoulders, finally able to relax now that the target was no longer their problem. She could feel Roots eyes on her as she stretched her arms over head, arching her back, tensing her muscles before relaxing them again, her shirt rising to expose her stomach as she stretched her arms over head, before she settled back into her seat. "Oh how you tease" Root said seductively, running her nails gently along Shaw's bare arm, making her skin tingle. She noticed that Root always got more flirtatious when off the clock. Downing the last of her drink Shaw leaning closer to Root who kept steady eye contact until their faces were just inches from the others.  
"I am too sober for this!" Shaw whispered before pulling away and leaning back in her chair, Root still watching,  
"Well then let's have another drink," Root replied with a smile, gesturing to the bar tender for another round.

* * *

Neither of the pair thought about leaving until the bar tender notified that it was final call. They both finished their drinks and grabbed their coats off the back of their chairs, Root wobbled slightly; Shaw steadied her before Root linked their arms together, claiming that she needed help balancing, which was partly true.

The two women stumbled out of the bar, supporting each other as they made their way along the street. It was a pleasant night and they didn't have far to travel so they had passed on grabbing a taxi. They chatted and laughed as they wandered along, oh how Root loved the sound of Shaw's laughter. It had taken hours to get Shaw drunk enough for her to let down her walls but now that they were down Root was getting to see a whole other side of her colleague, one who could laugh at jokes and, in her own way, flirt back at Root which had caught her off guard when it first happened.

All too soon the two had reached Shaw's apartment building, Root insisted on walking her to her door, even though both knew that she was more than capable of handling herself if she were to run into trouble in the few flights of stairs up.

When they reached Shaw's apartment she slotted her key in the door and unlocked it. Shaw leant against the frame at Root continued to slightly slur her words, her nails once again gently gliding up and down Shaw's arm,  
"Roses are red, violets are blue, but there's nothing in the world prettier than you!" Shaw let out a laugh,  
"That has got to be the lamest pick up line _in existence!"  
_ "Don't worry, that's just plan A." Root explained with a seductive smirk on her face,  
"So what's plan B?" Shaw asked suggestively, smiling back at Root who leaned in to whisper in Shaw's ear, her warm breath tickling the side of her neck  
"To take you hostage…" Root's voice trailed away as she pulled away; it took Shaw's alcohol soaked mind a moment to process what Root had said and as she did so she felt Root's hands on her shoulders, next thing she knew she was pushed against the wall of her apartment, Root's body against hers. Root's lips pressed against hers.

Root felt a rush of endorphins as she finally kissed Sameen; she had wanted to do that for months. She felt Sameen's cool palms against her collarbone, pushing her back. Both women caught their breath, Root searching in her eyes for a reason why she had pushed her away, her mind running through different possibilities; maybe she had read the situation wrong, maybe she didn't really like her and had just been flirting with her to pass the time; maybe she hadn't waited long enough for Sameen to be ready for her to kiss her. Just as Root was about to fumble together some kind of apology and leave, Sameen grabbed the front of her coat, turning them around so that it was Root's turn to be up against the wall. Shaw's hands snaked down Root's arms, taking hold of her wrists she pinned them either side of her head.

Root let her do this because her mind was still exploding from the fact that Shaw was kissing her. Sameen Shaw had pinned her against the wall and was kissing her. She kissed her back, moving as deep into the kiss as she could, pushing back against Shaw, who let go of her wrists. Root's hands found their way to Shaw's waist.

She pushed back at Shaw who, after a little resistance, let her take control. Root walked Sameen backwards until Sameen bumped into the back of the sofa. At which point Root lifted her up and Sameen wrapped her legs around her waist. She now had the height advantage over the taller woman, kissing her from above, looking down so that dark brown met light. Sameen ran her fingers through Root's dark hair. These small things were driving Root crazy, she carried Sameen over to the kitchen counter, sitting her on the kitchen top the pair continued kissing feverishly.

Now that their hands were free they began pulling at the others clothing. They only broke their kiss when Shaw pulled away, pulling her t-shirt over her head. Root's eyes were wide as she took in Sameen's entire torso, reaching out she gently traced her fingertips over the various scars and bullet wounds that blemished her smooth skin.

Shaw watched Root as she studied her form, meeting her eyes she watched as Root lightly kissed one of the scars. Feeling Sameen tense beneath her and take a sharp breath in made Root smile as she continued to explore Shaw's body. Shaw closed her eyes, enjoying the pleasure that was coming from Root's soft lips being pressed against her cool skin.

Root lifted her once more, her legs still wrapped around her waist. Root carried her to where Sameen's bed stood; gently dropping the younger woman on her back, Root straddled Shaw, and taking a trick that she had used on her earlier, Root pinned Sameen's wrists down as she started to kiss and nip at her neck.

Shaw tried to free her hands in order to regain some control over the situation but she had to wait until Root became preoccupied with Shaw's body that her grip loosened and Shaw was able to get the upper hand, rolling them over so that she was now on top. Having regained power Root quickly lost her shirt and it was Sameen's turn to get to explore whilst leaving Root breathless at her touch.

They both knew that they were in for quite the night!

* * *

The next morning Sameen awoke to find the space next to her empty, pulling on a t-shirt and pair of briefs she wandered through to the kitchen where she leant over the kitchen counter, watching as Root dug through the cupboards looking for something.

"Whatcha doing there?" she asked playfully, laughing a little as Root jumped, not having noticed her presence.  
"I was going to make coffee but I can't seem to find any!" Root replied with a dramatic sigh, making Sameen smile again.  
"Go sit down and I'll bring it over in a minute," Sam gestured to the sofa and Root obeyed. Sameen quickly boiled the kettle, retrieved two mugs, added the infant coffee and water before taking the two mugs over and setting them down on the coffee table in front of the sofa. Before Root could claim one of the mugs however, Sameen had climbed onto her lap, straddling her so that she once again had the height advantage over the other woman.  
"I had fun last night," Sameen said quietly, looking down into Root's eyes, who looked right back at her, her head tilted the way she did when she was trying (and succeeding) to be cute.  
"Yeah me too, we should let John deal with the targets more often!" She smiled back.

Before Sam could reply her phone began to ring in the other room, she hopped off Root and went to retrieve it, leaving a pouting Root on the sofa to enjoy the crappy instant coffee that she had. Once she had the phone she wandered back in, this time sitting next to Root on the sofa as oppose to on top of her.  
"Hey John, how'd it go with the target last night?" there was a pause as John replied, "Good. So Harold has the information," another pause "another number? Already?" pause "yeah, no I understand, no rest for the wicked." Root smiled as Shaw rolled her eyes at whatever John was saying "Yeah okay, oh you don't need to call Root, she's here," Shaw caught herself just a little too late. "Yes John Root is here… Yes I am in my apartment… yes that does mean that Root is in my apartment… No she's not tied to a chair!" Shaw running her hand through her hair, "No, I'm not tied to a chair either. John no one is tied to anything, we'll be in soon okay."


End file.
